Housing overlay yields first results

This graphic shows the sketch plan for a new subdivision planned for Spanish Valley Drive near the golf course. The plan includes 40 townhomes, each with garage space; these buildings are marked in yellow on this site plan. Each house will face a shared courtyard in the middle of the neighborhood. Various styles for the townhomes are also shown.Graphic courtesy of Glen Lent

The Grand County Planning Commission has given a green light to a new residential housing development on Spanish Valley Drive, enabled by the recently passed High Density Housing Overlay that the County Council passed in January.

The property owner representative (and he’ll be the developer), Glen Lent, told the planning commission during a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 26, that affordability would be a key feature of the development. The neighborhood will feature 40 townhomes ranging from about 1,000 to 1,300 square feet in size.

“Even with affordability, we can create a neat community that people want to live in,” Lent told the commission.

Lent, who is the president of Alpine Development, said that he had oversee similar workforce housing projects in the past, including in Park City. He sees a trend toward the popularity of townhomes such as the ones he is proposing to build.

“It’s a little bit of this trend I think that we’re making toward smaller houses – more sustainability,” Lent told the commission.

Commissioners expressed relief and gratitude toward Lent for bringing such a project to Moab. The development will augment what many see as a grave undersupply of housing in the area.

“I think that there is definitely a real need for this type of housing in Moab,” said Abby Scott, vice chair of the Grand County Planning Commission. “I was just very encouraged to see a development like this coming up.”